The academic year in Cameroon has effectively started today Tuesday, September 27, 2016. Students from eight state universities and higher institutions are once again occupying the amphitheatres in Bamenda (North West), Buea (South West), Douala (Littoral), Dschang (West), Maroua (Far North) Ngaoundéré (Adamawa), Yaoundé I and II (Centre).

According to the latest figures from the Ministry of Higher Education, more than 500 000 students have enrolled in the eight (8) state universities and private higher institutions in Cameroon for the academic year 2016/2017 and none has received any laptop from the Biya led government. Cameroon Concord News will be updating you on the laptops promised the students by President Biya.

By Sona Peter

Basic education officials from eight French African countries are meeting in Cameroon to come out with strategies on how best to teach the French and other national languages.

The Secretary of State at the Ministry of Basic Education Beniot Ndong Soumet who opened the five day atelier called for the continuous training of primary school teachers.

The Secretary of State observed that national languages were included in school curricula because they are considered a strong force of unity and development in Africa.

The forum which is expected to end on Friday September the 25th 2016 will make available a road map for the teaching of French and the national languages in the sub region.

CRTV

Journalist and writer Boris Bertolt has released a book on the Albatross scandal entitled “The President’s Plane”. In the book, he takes us into the meanders of the acquisition process of a plane for President Paul Biya-the Albatros.

He revealed that billions of FCFA was swallowed and observed that in the end Paul Biya had neither the money nor his plane. The book is an exciting thriller published by Editions du Schabel Haman Mana since August 31, 2016.

The Minister of Basic Education, Youssouf Hadidja Alim has made public assurances that the CPDM government will support some 200 displaced pupils in the Mayo Sava Division of the Far North Region.

During her visit to the Government Primary School Meme Group 1A at the outskirts of Mora, Minister Youssouf Hadidja Alim met with the 200 displaced victims of Boko Haram atrocities in the region.

We understand the children all hail from the border towns of Kolofata, Limani, kerawa, Ashigashia, and Tokomari. While transmitting government’s words of encouragement and constant support to their plight, the Minister reminded the pupils to overcome their challenges by working very hard.

She also saluted the efforts of stakeholders of Basic Education in the Mayo Sava Division and other affected areas of the Far North Region for their bravery in coping with the terrorists threats.

CRTV

Some 367 government secondary and high school teachers who faked transfers to other schools have been asked to return to their initial schools. The decision was made by the Minister of Secondary Education Jean Ernest Bibehe after a thorough cross check of their files by the Human Resource Management of the Ministry.

According to officials at the Ministry of Secondary Education, 369 files in question were crosschecked out of which only 2 were genuine. Moreover, out of the 369 files, only 146 teachers in question presented their documents as demanded by the Ministry. It is but normal that the others did not border to present theirs since they are mindful of the foul game.

It was also reviewed that some of the fake transfers were orchestrated by some government officials. To this, the Ministry has embarked into strict investigation to track down the said unscrupulous agents. The teachers in question are expected in their initial Schools latest on 1st September 2016, after which their Principals will have to establish certificates of resumption which will be forwarded to the Ministry of Secondary Education by 30th September 2016. Any teacher who fails to adhere to the call will receive sanctions from both the Ministry of Secondary Education and the Public Service.

CRTV

The visiting Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Helen Clark has re-pledged her organisation’s support to Cameroon in its youth empowerment programmes and moves at attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Helen Clark reaffirmed this on Monday 29th August 2016 as she began a two-day working visit in Cameroon.

The UNDP boss arrived Yaounde from Nairobi, Kenya and was received by Cameroon’s Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella. Other officials of the UNDP branch in Cameroon were also on hand to welcome her like the UNDP Country Representative, Najat Rochdi.

During an audience with Minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Helen Clark expressed her organisation’s solidarity with the internally displaced persons and refugees following the Boko Haram attacks. The tete-a-tete was also forum for both diplomats to evaluate cooperation ties between Cameroon and the UNDP.

At the end of the UNDP scribe promised to continue supporting development efforts in the country. Over at the Prime Minister’s Office in an audience with Head of Government, Philemon Yang, Helen Clark not only pledged to support the empowerment of the youth but also recommended a holistic approach to economic growth, while encouraging inclusive growth in the country.

This 30th August 2016, the UNDP Administrator left Yaounde for Maroua in the Far North Region, to meet with the internally displaced persons and visit UNDP projects in the region.

 Culled from CRTV 

Representatives from the Pan African Institute for Development in Buea have finally gotten accreditation from the Cameroon government. The request was made on the 21st August 2016 after a press release issued by the Minister of Higher Education on the 19th August 2016, depicting the Pan African Institute as a non-accredited Institution of Learning.

Minister Jaque Fame Ndongo granted the request during a meeting presided over by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education. The decision was made reached after very productive discussions involving some directors of the Ministry of Higher Education and a delegation of four persons from the Pan African Institute of Higher Learning.

Another meeting in line with this latest development has been scheduled for Thursday the 1st September 2016 after which an inspection team will be dispatched by the Minister of Higher Education to the Campuses of the Pan African Institute for Development in Cameroon.

CRTV

Officials of the Central and Decentralized services of the Ministry of Secondary and Basic Education are meeting in Yaounde to map the way forward for the new school year. The highly placed civil servants taking part in the conclave which opened on the 26^th of August 2016 included Pedagogic Inspectors, Regional Delegates and heads of examination boards.

They will inter alia, examine problems of discipline, the management of funds and review the last end of course examinations. The meeting holding at the Government Technical High School in Nkolbisson, Yaounde is under the direct supervision of the Secondary Education Minister, Jean Ernest Bibehe Massena.

CRTV

The Ministry of Secondary Education has ordered the closure of 75 private institutions before the beginning of the 2016-2017 academic year. The establishments were pinned by the Ministry of Secondary Education, for violating the terms of engagement in running secondary schools in Cameroon and for operating in residential homes.

The CPDM government identified such private schools in several cities, including Douala and Yaounde.  Parents have been invited to consult the list of institutions authorized to operate by the government prior to the registration of their children.

The Minister of Secondary Education has also stated that it allows no more than 80 students per class room in secondary schools.

However, the action of the Biya regime has been consistently inconsistent in the educational sector.  In 2014, 85 secondary schools were closed for the same reasons and after some under-the-table arrangements were allowed to go operational again.

By Sama Ernest

The Minister of Trade, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana has announced that all textbooks and workbooks for the 2016/2017 academic year are available with prices the same as last year. Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana assured parents of this during a press conference in Yaounde on the 10th August 2016.

Before the press conference, the Trade Minister had already signed a release on the 9^th of August 2016, spelling out the maximum prices for all school textbooks. Booksellers, distributors and owners of bookshops took part in the press conference in Yaounde.

CRTV